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The White Rose Museum

Munich's memorial museum to the White Rose resistance group which opposed the Nazis in World War Two

They risked their lives in a fight against tyranny and stood defiant as they payed the ultimate price. And now the members of the White Rose (Weiße Rose) resistance group have been remembered in a new exhibition at Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU).
A newly-refurbished White Rose Museum has been reopened in 2017 in the place of a smaller, previous memorial room in the university's main building.

It is just steps away from where Hans and Sophie Scholl were taken into custody after leaving anti-Nazi leaflets in front of hall doors while lectures were in progress, and Sophie cast a spare stack from an upper landing to drift down to the atrium floor. The new museum was opened on February 18, 2017, exactly 74 years on from the day the Scholl siblings were arrested.

Remember: From left, White Rose members Hans and Sophie Scholl and Chrisoph Probst in 1943, shortly before their arrest.

A fresh look at the White Rose legacy

The original White Rose Museum (Denkstätte Weiße Rose) was opened in Munich in 1997 at the suggestion of Otl Aicher, a brother-in-law of Hans and Sophie Scholl. Although it was always worth a look, it was rather limited and the displays were only in German.
But thanks to an increasing interest in the World War Two resistance group - particularly from international visitors - it was decided to refurbish the museum and add English information panels.
There are interactive media stations, biographies of the main figures behind the White Rose and a film which shows how they mass produced and distributed their anti-Nazi leaflets in an age of typewriters and basic printing techniques. Visitors can also learn about how the White Rose was seen directly after the war, and how the group’s reputation has changed over the decades.

The White Rose was an 'important chapter' in Munich's universtiy's history

Dr Bernd Huber, professor and LMU president, said the resistance group held a special place in the university's history.
Dr Huber said: "The White Rose Memorial Museum has been a core part of our main building for the past 20 years, and it remains a place of remembrance and contemplation.
"In the White Rose, young people, and among them many students, made a stand against an inhuman dictatorship.
"We want to preserve the remembrance of the White Rose and its legacy at this site, and pass that memory onto future generations."
Dr Huber said he was delighted about the refurbishment.
He said: "Right here, young people can get an insight into the fate of the members of this student resistance group, and also into an important chapter in the history of the LMU (university) during the time of the Nazis."

Other details: Entry is free.
Guided tours can be arranged in English, German, Italian and French, and they can also arrange seminars for schools groups. Contact the White Rose Foundation for more details by phone +49 89218 05678 or email info@weisse-rose-stiftung.de

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